The system and method disclosed herein relates to a device for mounting a motor to a machine and more particularly to a printer with a device for mounting an electric motor to the printer.
A number of appliances and tools incorporate electric motors. A mounting structure is typically used to fix the motor to the device. The mounting structure used with a particular device maintains the motor drive shaft properly aligned with the components in the device which are driven by the motor. A gear provided on the motor drive shaft, for example, may be maintained in a coupled configuration with one or more gears to transfer the rotational energy produced by the motor to another component in the device.
The position at which the motor is mounted in a given system is a function of the purpose for which the motor is provided along with design constraints of the particular system. Accordingly, various motor mounting approaches have been incorporated in different systems depending upon the particular needs of the system. Wet/dry vacuum appliances, for example, often have a motor attached directly to the appliance lid via fasteners such as screws or bolts. Other motor mounting techniques include the use of rigid flanges and brackets which are bolted onto the motor and then permanently fastened to the frame and/or to the housing to which the motor is to be mounted.
Motor mounts which incorporate bolts, screws, and other fasteners are very effective. As the number of components needed to mount a motor to a device increases, however, increased inventory for the various parts must be maintained at the location where the system is assembled. Additionally, as the number of components needed for assembly of a motor to a device increases, the complexity of assembling the motor onto the device increases.
Moreover, design criteria in more complicated systems frequently dictate the positioning of motors in very tight spaces which are difficult to access even with a single hand. Thus, positioning a motor in the proper position and maintaining the motor in that position with one hand while positioning and affixing fasteners, flanges, etc. with a second hand can be very challenging and significantly increase the time needed to mount a motor to a device. As the time required for assembly increases, the cost of mounting a given motor increases.
Additionally, there are many instances wherein a motor must be removed. Motors may need to be removed to provide access to other components in need of service, or the motor itself may require service. Each time a motor is removed, the components used to fasten the motor to the device must be removed. The time required to remove the mounting components increases the down-time for the device. When working with small components, such as screws, bolts, and washers, particularly in locations which are difficult to access, components may be dropped, extending down-time while the components are retrieved. In more complex systems, finding and extracting a small component may result in an extended delay in the down-time for the system.
A printer is a complex system which incorporates a number of motors, some if which are very small. The word “printer” as used herein encompasses any apparatus, such as a digital copier, book marking machine, facsimile machine, multi-function machine, etc., which performs a print outputting function for any purpose. The motors in a particular printer may be positioned in difficult to access locations close to other sensitive printer components. Accordingly, efficient mounting and removal of a motor in a printer is important.